The present invention relates generally to hose clamping devices and particularly an improved hose clamp apparatus for alternative clamping, tightening and/or release of a hose associated with a collar of an engine, motor, pump or the like, in tightly confined or constrained spaces most accessible primarily from a direction substantially parallel to the hose.
Various devices currently exist that attempt to securely affix hoses to engines, motors, pumps or the like. One type of hose clamp employes a tangentially positioned worm screw gear such as the devices patented in Hill et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,395,273 and Black, U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,314. However, such "tangential" type hose clamps are difficult to work with in the often tightly confined or constricted spaces which form the environments in which they are most commonly used, such as automobile or truck engine compartments.
Other types of hose clamps have included those such as Kitts, U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,199 and Younce, U.S. Pat. No. 1,874,731, a "piston ring compressing tool", both of which employ a screw head oriented substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the circular band for tightening thereof. However, Kitts U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,199 employs a separate pawl and ratchet arrangement or an eccentric wedging member, to lock the clamp apparatus, while Younce U.S. Pat. No. 1,874,731 employs a loop which is tightened down so as to contact the shaft to purportedly restrain rotation thereof. Indeed, difficulties are likely to be encountered in connection with the separate operations and/or tools or "two handed" operations required to achieve tightening and reliable locking, if at all, of the Younce and Kitts devices.
Often in the engine compartments of modern trucks or cars there are numerous hoses and the like which must be clamped and maintained in a tight fashion to such items as radiators, pumps, or pipes. However, the mechanical complexity, close physical proximity of the various components associated with the engine, and limited available space in such engine compartments combine to make for an environment wherein access to such hose clamps, which invariably must be periodically tightened or removed, is often severly limited or virtually impossible. Indeed, often in order to obtain sufficient access to a conventional hose clamp in order to tighten, loosen or to remove it entirely with a screw driver or similar tool, it is necessary to remove entire engine components for no other reason than to obtain sufficient clearance to engage and remove or tighten the clamp or hose. However, the present invention provides much more facilitated tightening, loosening or removal of the clamp and hose since it is almost always possible to engage the shaft member of the present invention with a conventional tool since it is oriented approximately parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the hose being clamped, thereby avoiding the necessity of removing surrounding components which would serve as obstructions if conventional tangential hose clamps were employed.
Clearly, there is therefore a need for an improved hose clamp apparatus for alternative clamping, tightening and/or release of a pressurized hose associated with a collar of an engine, motor, pump or the like in a tightly confined or constricted environment most accessible primarily from a direction substantially parallel to the hose and providing for facilitated "one handed" tightening and untightening thereof.
Consequently, the present invention has as an object the accomplishing of the purpose of providing a hose clamp apparatus that will easily maintain a desired tightness of a hose connection.
In addition, the present invention has as an object the facilitation of access to the rotatable shaft member from a direction substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the hose for loosening or tightening thereof, so as to prevent obstruction by other components and corresponding unnecessary removal and replacement of such components in the aforementioned constricted environment.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hose clamp apparatus which allows for facilitated "one handed" tightening and loosening in a substantially continuous manner as opposed to tightening or loosening requiring two separate steps and/or tools.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the present specification and drawings.